Old style BT 'boxes' - can they be swapped over?

[sparkybird]

Hi all

I've offered to help my elderly neighbours upgrade their old phone to a push button one (easier for them to interact with those annoying 'for appointments, press 1' phone calls), but noticed that they still have the old style BT boxes (sort of oval, with no place to plug in). Can I simply replace these with the newer socket type ones? (using 2,3 and 5). Or is the cable supplying these not suitable? If this is the case, how do I make the change from the old cable to the new one? Is there some sort of connector box??

I've not opened them up yet as they look so old that I reckon they'll fall apart!

Hope someone can help me out

Cheers
SB

 

[big-all]

officialy you need to ask bt to do it
she will also be paying to hire the phone from them so she would save about £15 a year in phone rentals

or at least that was the situation last time i asked [about 10 years ago ]

 

[Lectrician]

BT will swap to an NTE5 master socket for free.

 

[greengrass]

Yes both big-all and Lectrician are right it's BT who's the only one who can change the strip box to a first line socket you can't buy them anyway, at least not with BT on it.
I'm assumng the old box is in the hall that's where most were sited when I came acrosse them.

But before contacting BT and assuming the old box is in the hall by the front door, check with the couple which room they use the most, tell them that's where the new box should be sited, otherwise it will mean running an extension [£45 approx from BT].. However if you talk to them nicely and inform BT they are elderly pensoners they may do the whole job for nothing, it's worth a try. If you run sockets use the piggyback plug system it saves time and effort of taking the service plate off the main box to hard wire in extensions and eliminates the possibility of causing a fault.

 

[plugwash]

i thought the whole point of that plate was to allow seperation of customer wiring and bt wiring without an ugly plug in lump it would seem a shame not to use it.

 

[Lectrician]

I HATE Plug in extensions - do the job properly!

 

[Diyisfun]

Save having an extension, get a cordless pair, pay £65 & get the phone where you want it without the wiring issue. Only need power point.

 

[sparkybird]

Thanks for your replies everyone. I'll get in touch with BT and see if they can do a freebie. If not, I'll just get them to put the first one in (unfortunately the master is upstairs and not used much) and run the rest myself.

Spending 65 quid on a cordless is not an option for them and it'd still need a plug in socket anyway!

Cheers all

SB

 

[chappers]

who says you cant buy master sockets got one from wilts last week they are not quite the same as the bt ones as they have no protected connection.
Just make sure you get a master socket for the first one and a secondary socket for the extension.
The wiring coming into the little box is probably old stylee so you need the orange and white wires if using a Bt master then usually white to A orange to B or if not then orange to 2 and white to 5 its not to important but some equipment requires the correct polarity.
The standard for wiring an extension is to use the blue with white stripes to connect 2-2 the white with blue stripe to connect 5-5 and the orange with white stripe to connect the bell wire 3-3 this will stop tinlkling when dialing from the extension.
No need to get BT out.

 

[plugwash]

she wan'ts dsl though, i wonder if bt are on the ball enough to only offer you dsl if they have fitted a modern master socket.

btw you can get NTE5 masters with the removable bottom plate although you generally have to go to more specialist suppliers as its not something most housebashers or people working in commercial will have much need for.

 

[HDRW]

who says you cant buy master sockets

BT, and the law! The strip box (and the Master socket they'd replace it with) belong to BT and you aren't allowed to mess about with them. This has been the case since BT was a government-owned monopoly, and hasn't changed.

got one from wilts last week they are not quite the same as the bt ones as they have no protected connection.

So they aren't even technically correct, let alone legally...

There's no reason not to get BT to install the Master socket, and if (as a later message mentions) there is a plan to get ADSL they will have to do that anyway, so may as well let them do it as part of the ADSL installation.

Cheers,

Howard

 

[plugwash]

bt can't stop places selling master sockets as they do have legitimate uses outside the bt system.

and afaict replacing say a broken master socket yourself it a bit like cutting rec seals, you aren't supposed to do it but people do and its virtually impossible to prove exactly who did it.

 

[Lectrician]

http://www.austin-taylor.co.uk/pages/nte5.htm

Just missing the BT logo in the corner.

They also make these for use on Telewest networks etc....

I have had some from this site.

 

[HDRW]

http://www.austin-taylor.co.uk/pages/nte5.htm

Just missing the BT logo in the corner.

They also make these for use on Telewest networks etc....

I have had some from this site.

Yes, but why buy something and do it yourself when BT should do it for you, free?

Cheers,

Howard

 

[Spark123]

CPC also do the master socket NTE5. They also do an ADSL microfilter which replaces the detachable front of the NTE5.